Three minutes ago.

Outside the Fengdu Imperial Palace.

Li Deyang stood on the fifth suspended stone slab. He looked up at the palace above his head. Endless vicissitudes emerged on his face. Countless dusty memories poured out from the depths of his soul, and his eyes were filled with pain and entanglement.

"So it's you...

It was you who controlled the six realms of reincarnation and made me born in Anta County, which is closest to here;

Every night after I fall asleep, it is you who calls my name and brings me back to Anta County;

It was you who brought me to the abandoned forest, witnessed the appearance of the worker ant, and requested rescue from the higher-ups...

In the primeval forest, you were the one who hinted at me and them to keep going. Even after we entered Fengdu, you were still guiding me all the way until we came to this palace...

My life has always been under your influence.

He took a slow step and stepped onto the sixth stone slab.

Buzz——!!

The buzzing sound echoed in the sky outside the palace.

There was a hint of vicissitudes in Li Deyang's eyes.

"Does it have to be like this..." he muttered to himself.

"I just want to quietly guard the border, buy a house for my father to live in, find a reliable son-in-law for my daughter, give them a happy and fulfilling life... and then die like a soldier in front of millions of people."

"Your responsibility, your aspirations, are too heavy for me."

"After becoming you...am I still Li Deyang?"

His voice was very soft, as if he was asking himself, or as if he was asking someone else.

He took a step forward and stepped onto the sixth stone slab.

The trembling sound sounded again, like a dull thunder, echoing in the sky above Fengdu.

Those fragmented memories that did not belong to him surged out from the deepest part of his soul and poured into his mind...

In a trance, he heard the ghosts' prayers again.

"Please, save us!!"

"…If this continues, I will become a ghost too!"

"You can do it, why? Why?!"

"Please... Even if it's just my child, please..."

"…"

He opened his eyes in surprise and looked back. He was standing on a stone slab suspended in the air, overlooking the desolate ghost town below.

Under his feet was a city that housed countless ghosts.

They have been waiting here for a hundred years.

"I see, so that's what you meant..." He looked down at the ghost town below, a light slowly bloomed in his eyes, as if he had figured something out, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

He opened his arms as if to embrace the ghost town.

"They...are also tens of millions of people!"

Li Deyang took out a shining medal from his pocket and carefully wiped its surface with his thumb. Looking at the three words "Li Deyang" neatly engraved on it, a look of reluctance appeared on his face.

He put his thumb under the medal and flicked it lightly.

bite--!!

This medal, which had accompanied him for twenty years and symbolized honor and responsibility, was flicked into the air by him and spun rapidly. The surface of the medal clearly reflected the ghost town beneath his feet and Li Deyang's calm face...

Then he fell into the ghost town below and disappeared.

"If the dark night finally comes, I will stand before millions of people..."

Li Deyang watched the medal fall, muttering to himself,

"Today, even if I, Li Deyang, die for these millions of people... so what?"

He turned around and walked towards the seventh stone slab.

Then, without any hesitation, he stepped onto the eighth, ninth, and tenth blocks!

Boom boom boom——!!

Four consecutive loud noises exploded in the sky above Fengdu like thunder, instantly attracting the attention of all the ghosts. They all looked up at the sky at the same time, looking at the palace they had been watching for a hundred years...

Inside the courtyard, the ghost that had communicated with Lin Qiye stared blankly at the figure standing in front of the palace, its lips trembling uncontrollably. It bent its legs, prostrated itself on the ground, tears filling its eyes!

"Welcome back, Emperor!"

Behind it, its wife and daughter were also kneeling on the ground, kowtowed heavily to the figure.

All the ghosts in Fengdu who still had some humanity bowed to the ground, excitedly looking at the figure in front of the palace, and silently shouted:

"——Welcome back, Great Emperor!!"

No one can hear this sound, but Li Deyang can.

He stood on the last stone slab, looking down at the ghosts worshipping at his feet. The confusion, doubt and hesitation on his face all disappeared, replaced by an unprecedented calmness.

"From now on, there will no longer be a night watchman named Li Deyang in this world...

I am,

The Emperor of Fengdu!"

Bang--!!

The palace gate behind him suddenly opened, and the wide black imperial robe flew out from it, circling around Li Deyang, as if leaping for joy!

When Li Deyang saw the familiar imperial robe, the corners of his mouth slightly raised. He stretched out his hand and gently waved it, and the imperial robe was draped on his body. It moved without wind, and the golden lines flashed with unprecedented light. A powerful imperial power suddenly descended.

In the imperial palace behind them, Lin Qiye and the other three stood behind the door, looking at the scene in front of them, their mouths wide open in shock...

"Li, Uncle Li, this is..." Baili Pangpang felt the breath coming from Li Deyang and the rolling imperial robe, and he couldn't even utter a complete sentence.

Lin Qiye stared at Li Deyang's back. Although he was also surprised, he was better than the other two.

"He is the reincarnation of the King of Fengdu."

Lin Qiye spoke slowly, "Actually, I should have thought of this earlier. Fengdu is the legendary kingdom of the dead. How could its gate be opened to you so easily?"

"But, but...how could he be the Emperor of Fengdu?" Baili Pangpang still couldn't believe it. "He is obviously an ordinary kind-hearted uncle. How could he have the temperament of an emperor?"

"Before the memory of reincarnation awakened, he was just Li Deyang." Cao Yuan sighed and said with some emotion, "But now... it may not be the case anymore."

Outside the palace.

Li Deyang wore the emperor's robe, slowly closed his eyes, and his realm rose rapidly.

"Pool" state, "River" state, "Sea" state, "Boundless", "Klein"... When the last shackle of "Klein" was easily broken, his entire temperament seemed to be sublimated and he stepped into a mysterious realm.

Then, his breath stopped where it was.

He frowned slightly, looked down at his hands, and shook his head helplessly, "Is this the only way I can recover..."

At this moment, he seemed to have noticed something, and suddenly raised his head to look at the sky of Fengdu, his expression gradually becoming solemn.

Suddenly, the dark dome began to ripple with bright red ripples. An extremely eerie aura suddenly descended upon Fengdu. All the ghosts began to tremble uncontrollably under this aura.

A black hand suddenly stretched out from within the bright red ripples, followed by an arm, a shoulder, a head, and a torso...

He emerged from the ripples and hovered quietly in the air.

A black, shirtless god.

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